Manila: After rejecting a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar last month, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he is “willing to accept” Rohingya refugees, “but we should split it with Europe.”
He said he believes genocide is taking place in Myanmar, and criticized the international community for its inability to solve the problem.
Despite this, he described the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi as his “friend.” In January, Duterte advised the Nobel Peace Prize winner to ignore criticisms from human rights organizations over her silence on the persecution of Rohingya.
Political analyst Ramon Casiple said Manila’s rejection of the resolution is consistent with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) doctrine of non-interference, while Duterte’s willingness to take in Rohingya is consistent with the state policy of accepting refugees.
“We (the Philippines) don’t share Myanmar’s policies or views” on the Rohingya, Casiple told Arab News.
Ranjit Singh Rye of the Department of Political Science at the University of the Philippines told Arab News that Manila “didn’t want to take part in a global consensus against Myanmar because it’s a fellow ASEAN member.”
But Duterte’s statement on the Rohingya “is perfectly consistent” with the policy of ASEAN and the Philippines to accept refugees, especially from an ASEAN member, “and given the fact that there’s a real humanitarian crisis happening,” Rye said.
“Due to the humanitarian situation that has evolved, the Philippine government has to pitch in.”
